


Seize The Day

by carpediembitches



Series: I would drive with you to the end of the world [1]
Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Mild Blood, Minor Violence, Slow Build, anderperry, todd gets kidnapped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:54:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpediembitches/pseuds/carpediembitches
Summary: A kidnapper AU which has been yet to made in anderperry fandom.This doesn't make sense but why should it?
Relationships: Todd Anderson & Neil Perry, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry
Series: I would drive with you to the end of the world [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089788
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> A kidnapper AU which has been yet to made in anderperry fandom.  
> This doesn't make sense but why should it?

Todd Anderson was walking towards the local grocery store, a list that his mom had given him, in his mitten covered hand. There was only a few things written but they were crucial for his mother, so he had put Todd for the job. The December air was tickling in his nose, creating an effect that made Todd's eyes water. It couldn't be that cold but Todd didn't like cold. He hated cold but he loved the snow. Which was fortunate because the ground was covered. The whole town of Weston was covered in beautiful, soft snow. And it was still falling from the sky. That made Todd forget the agonizing snow for just a moment. 

He used his teeth to take off the other mitten to rummage through his other pocket for the money his mom had given him. As he got a hold of it, he was already reached the store. He opened the door and immediately bumped shoulders with a stranger. The other one's grocery bag crashed against Todd's knee. Todd quickly looked back at the slightly taller boy who had a surprised emotion splattered across his face. 

His lips were a little ajar and Todd could see the warm breath colliding with the cold air, creating steam. His eyes were a deep set of brown or maybe hazel. The man pulled his beanie out of his face, which left a few strands of brown hair hanging on his forehead. His lips curled up into a soft smile as he said "I'm so sorry. I was completely in my own world!" 

Todd felt at loss of words. He didn't expect anything else either. It wasn't just because a beautiful man was standing in front on him but also that he had said words, words meant for Todd. Todd, who couldn't even comprehend a sentence for his father sometimes. This was just too much at this point. The other man, with the long, black coat and a scarf lazily hanging on his shoulders, was still waiting for an answer. 

Todd was really trying to stutter out a few words, but they stayed inaudible. He thanked the lord that half of his face was covered but a scarf because his cheeks were getting red. He could always blame the cold weather but it'd be dream thinking that Todd would even get that far. 

"Well, uh...happy holidays. And sorry again." the stranger said and waved awkwardly. He turned around and left Todd standing by the door, looking like a lost puppy. He hated stupid moments like this. He just hated talking in general. Couldn't the other boy just...just let it be like every other boy in this town would. 

Well, he was clearly different. Todd didn't notice that he was still thinking about the handsome stranger who had bumped into him when he was paying for his two cartons of milk, frozen peas and canned mushrooms. The seller was telling Todd to have a good Christmas but Todd didn't say anything back. Why should he? The seller would forget about him in the blink of an eye. Well Todd didn't think that way. He was now bothered that he might've made the seller upset by not saying anything. He had almost forgotten about his little occurrence with the brunette man. 

Todd's mind was so filled with saying 'merry Christmas' back to the seller that he didn't even notice at first being pulled to a small, narrow alleyway, near the store and the strong smell of ammonia conquering his nostrils. He saw black dots and after that completely fell unconscious. 

"Don't forget the lottery ticket!" Neil Perry's mom chirped from the kitchen. Neil had just finished putting on his shoes when he just hummed a small response to his mother. He had planned to stay in his room all day, reading, maybe acting out a few scripts and then taking a fat nap in the afternoon. But no, instead of his peaceful sleep right at this hour at 4 PM, he was walking towards the grocery store because his mom needed ingredients for the dinner. 

If she was so into the dinner why can't she just go to the store? She could take the car and- huh. Neil looked at the empty spot where his family car should be, only to find it empty. He then figured his dad must've taken it. Neil just shrugged it off and let his mind wander to the strange world of plays. 

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so..." he mumbled out a memorized line from the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. "To be or not to be; that IS the question!" he got into a character and yelled out into the quiet December air. 

Nobody was around and Neil took advantage of that precious moment. He twirled around under the falling snow, closing his eyes and smiling. He needed moments like these. He couldn't bare to think anymore seconds of becoming a doctor like his father wants him to. Neil hates doctors so why would he want to be one himself? Every chance his father could get, he'd remind that Neil was going into medical school after Welton and there was nothing he could really do about it. 

That's why Neil treasured moments like these with all his mighty heart. His heart that was filled with the love for acting. No room for his father. Maybe a bit for his mother. Though she loved Neil and supported his love for acting but she was scared, just like Neil. Scared of saying back to her husband. She stayed silent and watched Neil suffer slowly and die from the inside. 

Neil's mind was occupied with Romeo and Juliet as he was done with the groceries. Maybe one day he could perform Mercutio...or maybe even Romeo. As long as he got to be on- 

Neil was so caught up that he didn't notice bumping into a slightly smaller boy at the entrance. His bag crashed against the other boy's knee. Neil quickly turned around and was faced with a boy, who had blonde pieces of hair sticking from under his red beanie. And a scarf. Scarf so big that it was covering half of his face. Neil could only see the boy's bright blue eyes and his eyelashes that had snowflakes on them. That was a pretty sight, indeed. Neil then looked down at his hands. The other one was completely bare, holding a 20 dollar bill and the other one was covered by a mitten, holding the other mitten and what Neil could only possibly assume was the grocery list. 

"I'm so sorry. I was completely in my own world!" Neil finally made it to say after taking in the other boy's appearance. He quite enjoyed it. The other stayed silent. 

Alright, did Neil say something bad? Did his grocery bag hurt the other one's knee? He was genuinely gonna ask him that at one point but decided it was stupid. He saw the other one looking desperately at him. Maybe he was just shy? Neil did want to hear this mystery boy's voice though. He imagined it being soft and delicate. 

Neil didn't actually think like that, well...at least he didn't acknowledged it himself. It was deep in the cells in his brain which were thinking the boy was incredibly cute. 

"Well, uh...happy holidays. And sorry again." Neil said and turned around, wanting to get back to thinking about Romeo and Juliet. He had soon forgotten about the boy by the entrance and was utterly focused on the role of Mercutio. Because he was going to use this moment as an escape from the crippling reality of becoming a doctor. And in his mind, Neil was already on the stage, making one hell of a monologue, carpe dieming the shit out of that act. 


	2. The Laundry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil finds the basement door unlocked.

Neil arrived home right when his father pulled up to their front yard. He stopped on his tracks and looked how his father hurriedly got out of the car but slowed down as he saw his son. 

"Hey...sir." Neil said warily. His father looked at Neil and then a bit around. He walked closer to his son, a breathy smile on his lips. "Neil." 

"Where were you?" Neil asked. 

"Just dealing with a couple work stuff. Go get the groceries now in, son." his father said and without any arguments, Neil left his father standing in the snow, looking back from the door glancing at his father who stood his hands in his pockets, smiling at his son. 

That was odd. He almost never smiled at Neil. The brunette shook the thoughts of his father away and brought the bag to his mother, who smiled warmly. Different kind of smile that his father had given him. This one was homey, filled with love. Reminded Neil of old times when he was just a young boy in his mother's arms during Christmas morning, opening his presents. 

"Did you get the lottery ticket for me?" his mom asked excitedly. Neil smiled and pulled one out of his pocket. "How could I forget?" 

"Thank you, dear." his mother kissed his cheek and went on to scratch it. 

Neil sighed and went up to his room, drowning himself in the music of his vinyl and getting that sweet, fat nap of his that he wanted. 

Todd felt a bit ill. He had his eyes shut. He didn't really know why. Why was his eyes shut exactly? He tried to open them but they felt heavy and rough. He made an attempt to rise his hand to his forehead but failed as he made an awful realization that his hands were tied together behind his back. This made his eyes flash open in a panic, looking around desperately. It was all too unfamiliar. He didn't know where he was. Panic was rising in his chest and he wanted to vomit. Still, the smell of ammonia prominent in his nose. He then discovered his legs tied to the feet of the chair and as he tried to tug his hands, he noticed that his hands weren't only tied together but on the chair. It was an impossible escape. 

He then heard a shuffle behind him. 

"Relax, kid..." a low voice said. He heard footsteps coming from behind him. Todd tried to look, but his neck was sore from god knows what. 

Then the person was in front of him, handling a roll of duct tape in his hands. He teared small piece which made Todd flinch. The man, who was probably in his sixties, looked up at Todd and smirked a bit. 

"Oh don't worry...just to be sure." he nodded and put it on Todd's mouth, which was too scared to even yell for help. As the duct tape was covering his mouth he tried mumbling something as to 'who are you' and 'why'. 

The man, who had an awful receding hairline, seemed to know what Todd was trying to ask and grabbed a chair in front of the boy and sighed. "Listen, I know this might be a bit scary...right?" Todd nodded carefully, not wanting to screw anything up. 

"Yeah...Don't worry, boy...this will all be over soon. I won't hurt you. I'll just keep you here for a while." he nodded and got up. Todd's heart was beating too fast. "You see your parents owe me some money, Todd. They haven't paid back like they promised. You don't know who I am and you have no need to know who I am but I do know, that you know that strange amount of money that seemed to get your brother to college. It wasn't all free." 

Todd had stopped trying to tug himself free. He was in shock. He remembers the day. It was before summer break when his and Jeff's, his brother's, parents had told them, well more Jeff, that they finally have the money to send Jeff to Yale. Everyone was so thrilled. Even Todd. 

But now he was hearing that the money had come from this strange man and his parents still owed him some money? How much money are we talking about? 

"I gave them 100 thousand dollars, Todd. And only asked for eight thousand back. Now I know that seems a lot of money for you and your family but considering the amount I put out for your brother..." the man tsked and shook his head a bit. "Well, you do see that it has been a few months and...well, I'm getting impatient. So maybe this will give them the kick they needed. Let's just hope they love you enough to pay me back." 

With that, the man left, shutting off the lights, only leaving one poorly lit light that was above Todd's head, flickering and on. Todd let out a small cry. 

"Oh and mr Anderson...I really do mean that I won't hurt you...that is as long as you behave as you should." 

* * *

Maybe it had been an hour. Maybe two. Maybe it's been a whole decade but Todd found himself still sitting in that chair, putt aching and sore, wrists getting rope burns and the bones in his ankles weren't happy either. Todd's head was hanging low as he looked at his thighs. He was freezing. Not even the snow would help him now. 

He was cold and hungry and suffering because of his brother. Suffering because Jeff wanted to go to Yale. Suffering because his parents didn't care and were probably now still celebrating Jeff's first successful four months in Yale. They probably didn't even notice that Todd was gone. 

He looked up, hoping someone to come rescue him or him waking up and realizing this was all a stupid dream. He looked at the grey stone walls, an almost broken wooden table where laid a few tools, like a hammer and maybe a screwdriver. Todd's eyes were too blurry from tears to really make sense of what he was seeing. The floor was also made of stone and it was colder than the snow itself. 

Maybe if Todd was a little warmer, he could try to escape, but there was no use. He had accepted his fate immediately when he realized he was tied up. 

He heard the door open and he jerked his head up, only to see the same stupid man, but this time with a plate of some food. "Hungry?" 

Todd's stomach responded. 

The man put it on the chair in front of Todd and went on to untie Todd's hands. Yet again, if Todd was a little warmer and maybe a bit stronger, he would've attacked the man, but he wasn't like that. He was the victim now and was weirdly fine with it. He reached for the food, but the man stepped in between, reaching for the duct tape. "I'm gonna take this off and if you even make the slightest sound, I'm afraid I will have to hurt you, understood mr Anderson?" 

Todd nodded. 

And the tape was removed. He stretched his jaw a bit and opened and closed his mouth a few times. Then he got the plate, which had only a little bit of mashed potatoes and a tiny piece of steak and some boiled peas. He was more hungry than that but he didn't care. He had already eaten the steak before the man had given him a spoon. He only threw it on the chair in front of Todd and went in to watch outside from the small window which was at the edge of the ceiling. The snow was falling peacefully and the snow already on the ground was covering half of the view outside anyways. 

"Your parents are aware of you disappearance and the reason for it now." the man said and slowly turned around, noticing Todd's empty plate. The boy looked up desperately and blinked deeply. 

The man said no more and grabbed the plate and the spoon. He tied Todd's arms back again and a new piece of tape over his mouth. Todd wanted to know what his parents had said but now giving it another thought...maybe he didn't. He didn't need to hear the relieved sighs and 'oh yes good just keep him'. 

Of course that wasn't what his parents had said at all. They had freaked out to god. They swore they were going to call the police but the kidnapper of poor Todd, had blackmailed them into keeping their mouth shut. The Anderson's didn't have much credit other than Jeff, but it just wasn't enough. Nobody could believe them over Thomas Perry. 

Neil woke up from his nap, only to realize it was 1 AM. The house was quiet and the slight peeping of the washing machine downstairs which notified that the laundry was done. Shit, Neil was supposed to empty it. He groaned and got up, rubbing his lower back a bit. He got up, shut off his vinyl, which was now just playing white noise and went downstairs. The whole house was dark. Neil could've left this for the morning but he didn't feel like sleeping anymore and he didn't want to disappoint his mother. He opened the door to the basement area, where was the actual basement and the laundry room. 

As he was opening the laundry room, he heard a small shuffling and sniffling noise coming from the basement. He stayed completely still, when he heard it again but louder this time. He looked up the stairs, listening that maybe it was his mother still awake in her and his father's bedroom, looking at Neil's old baby pictures, but no. The noise was coming from the basement. 

Neil gulped and tried the door handle. It was usually locked. His father just said there were dangerous, sharp wood cutting machines, which could hurt Neil. And besides Neil really couldn't care less about what was in the basement, except now. He was about to burst in half as he felt the handle and for his surprise it was open. Why in the name of god was it open. 

Maybe his father had forgotten to lock the door. 

As Neil stepped into the cold basement, he was surrounded by complete darkness. He heard the sniffling stop. 

Everything was quiet now. Neil was scared. He has never been this scared. Not even around his father. 

Neil reached for the light switch which he ended up landing his hand on and flicking the light on. They flickered for a moment, until revealing a small boy tied to the chair in the middle of the room. 

And when Neil said acting was far away from his mind as it could possibly be at this moment...he really meant it.


	3. The Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todd and Neil learn each others names.

Neil stared at the tied up boy in the eyes and suddenly felt paralyzed. A million thoughts were going, racing through his head at that second. He couldn't even catch one and give it a full thought. 

What in the name of god was happening? 

Who was this small, fragile boy in his basement and why does he look so familiar? 

Did he accidentally kidnap him in his sleep and left the door open? 

Does his parents know? 

What the fuck? 

Neil was about to open his mouth when he heard stumbling upstairs. He gave a quick, apologetic look to the other boy, who was quietly whimpering under the tape and tugging his arms. He shut the lights and closed the door. He opened the laundry room door and grabbed the basket and listened for a while. It stayed quiet after that. He didn't know what the sound was but he decided to gather his thoughts a bit. He pulled the damp laundry from the machine into the basket and once they were all out, he started placing them on the rack. 

His shaky hands were placing the clothes on the narrow white drying rack. His lips were in a thin line. He was too scared to even think about what just happened. How long that boy has been in there...

Neil shook his head rapidly, trying to convince himself that it was just a dream. Of course it was just a dream. Why would this even happen in real life? Neil let out an amused hum and left the empty basket on the floor and the clothes drying on the rack. He shut the lights and exited the laundry room. He quickly glanced at the basement door, but wanted to get back to sleep so he went up the stairs as quietly as he could, back to bed and shut his eyes tightly, hoping to wake up into the real world. 

Todd watched intently the door an hour after the new face had disappeared after staring at him for a while. He had figured this probably was the kidnappers son or something. Was the whole family in this? God Todd hoped they weren't. He hoped the boy would come back and release him from this nightmare. He had looked so awfully familiar but Todd was too tired from hunger and crying that his brain didn't function properly to connect faces he had seen before. 

Even though Todd was sure that he had ran out of tears, still he managed to shed a few salty tears which ran across his red cheeks and onto his lap. The previous puddle of tears had already dried up on his jeans. 

Todd missed his bed. He missed his creaky floorboards. The long stack of literature and poetry books on his table. His bowl of cereal, which he had forgotten to bring back to the kitchen, which was probably all molded from the milk and soft cereal in it. He had eaten while writing poems. He liked doing that. For some reason he liked chewing when he was focusing onto something. Todd always thought it was a bit weird but he had been doing it since he was a little boy so it had grown on him. 

One time he was chewing on a piece of plastic and it chipped his tooth a bit. After that he had only stayed with eating cornflakes. Todd didn't even like cornflakes at first but yet again they had grown on him. 

Unlike this place hadn't. 

Todd even missed his parents who could never love him as much as they loved his brother. Todd also missed Jeff even though Todd was suffering because of him. Why couldn't he just have a leap year and just go get a job and get the money on his own. 

Todd sighed in defeat. He couldn't blame anyone else in this but the kidnapper itself. He should come up with a name to call him because 'kidnapper' didn't have a really nice tone to it. Maybe his name could be...Rob. Or maybe Irwin...They were weird names, right? Who names their kid Rob? 

Todd tried to entertain his mind before he would completely lose it again and would be aware that he could only breath through his nose. 

He felt a small peak of sunlight touch his cheek. It was morning. He looked towards the window and squinted his eyes. He can't remember if he had even slept in this awful basement. Who could blame him? 

The door opened. It wasn't the person he hoped it would be. It was Rob. Todd winced a little bit for whatever reason. He knew this was going to live onto a trauma he would never recover from. 

Rob didn't have any food on him, which disappointed Todd a little bit. He was starving. 

"Good morning, Todd." Rob said. Todd didn't like the way his name sounded on Rob's lips. "I hope you slept well. I will be going to a run a few errands. Remember to behave or...well, you might add onto that." 

Todd nodded and watch the old man give him a small nod and leave the room. It was quiet for a long time after that. Todd's stomach growled. He could really use some cornflakes right now. 

A part of him wished he died because who could just recover from this? He could never go out anymore without the fear that someone would kidnap him. 

Upstairs Neil woke up, being content for a while until his face was he had just crashed his car. The boy from the basement. 

"Neil, your father already left for work. I will have to go too. Will you be alrig- NEIL!" his mother had walked in and looked how horrified Neil had looked. "Are you alright, dear?" 

"Uhm...y-yeah. I just...I had a wacky dream." Neil let out a breathy laugh. 

"Oh, sweetie. Remember that it was just a dream." his mother kissed her son's cheek. "Oh and thank you for taking out the laundry." 

Neil froze. So it did happen. 

"I will be going now. Bye darling!" his mom chirped and left his room. Soon the whole house was quiet. Neil was terrified. The chances were 50/50. Either the boy was still sitting there or not. 

Only one way to find out. 

Neil tip toed downstairs and once more towards the basement. He was standing in front of it for a while. Maybe he hadn't prepared for this as well as he had hoped. No matter the reason the boy's presence there- if he even was there- Neil would have to help him because it sure looked like it was done against the boy's will. 

He opened the door and as Neil feared, the boy was still there, but this time, his head was hanging low and his breathed had steadied. He was probably sleeping. Neil took a deep breath into his lungs and stepped into the chilly room and shut the door behind him. It didn't wake the boy. Neil got closer very slowly until he was right in front of him. He started to reach out his hand to gently touch the boy's shoulder, which made the other one startle awake. He looked up at Neil and almost jumped out of the chair even though he was tied to it. He let out a choked scream and tried to back away a bit. 

Neil freaked out too and a panicked expression flushed his face. "No! No, it's okay! I won't hurt you! Please calm down! I swear I won't do anything!" he squatted down to look less intimidating. 

The boy calmed a bit but was still pressed against the backrest as tightly as he possibly could. 

Neil looked at the boy for a moment until speaking up again "Do you want me to remove the tape?" 

The boy nodded desperately. Neil did so but very carefully as to not to hurt the boy. He only slightly winced but was happy to have the tape off of his mouth. He looked thankfully at Neil who threw the tape away. "I'm uhm...I'm Neil." 

The boy didn't respond. Neil figured his throat must be sore from crying- notice the dried up tear trails and puffy eyes- and from thirst. "I will be right back, stay there..." Neil mentally face palmed himself and shook his head as he ran upstairs. He filled a big glass with water and made a few slices of bread for starters. Then he came back to the boy who was barely holding his head up. 

"Here. Drink." Neil handed the boy the class but realized his hands were unable to move from behind his back. He set the glass down and opened the tight knot around the boy's red wrists. He looked in sorrow as the boy brought his aching hands to his lap. The wrists were bruising a bit. Neil would have to take care of that later. He now gave the glass again to the boy who gladly took it and drank it all almost at once. 

Once the boy was done he gave the glass back to Neil, who had opened the restrains around his ankles. "T-Todd." 

Neil looked up at the blonde boy who was blushed. 

"Hi Todd. I'm gonna help you alright? I don't know what you're doing here but it's gonna be fine." Neil assured and now handed Todd the slices of bread, which were gone almost in an instant. 

"W-Where is he?" Todd whispered quietly. 

Neil could only assume he was talking about his father. "My dad? He's at work." 

"He's going to hurt my family i-if I just get a-away?" 

Neil furrowed his brows. "What does you family have to do with this?" 

Todd was having difficulty in breathing. He gripped the chair under him and shut his eyes. He wished when he opened them he'd be home under his warm blankets and a stupid cereal bowl next to him on the nightstand. But that didn't happen. When he opened his eyes, he was just staring into Neil's brown, maybe hazel eyes. 

Wait a minute. 

"You're that guy from the grocery store..." Todd breathed under his breath and his eyes widened. 

"What?" Neil got a little close due to the fact that he didn't actually hear Todd. 

"Y-You bumped into me." Todd stated and a shock of realization flashed through Neil's eyes. 

"Oh right...I'm really sorry about that." Neil chuckled a little, trying to bring light into this dark situation. 

"I-I'm sorry I didn't s-say anything back then." Todd apologized and blushed. They were quiet for a moment, just looking at each other and having both a break from the reality. "My parents owe your dad some money and...and he's keeping me h-here until they pay him." 

"Motherfucker!" Neil cursed and looked angrily away. The soft smile that had on his lips had disappeared and it was replaced with a deep frown. He looked at the floor, feeling an utter sensation of rage go through him. How could his father? Well, what would he expect? He wouldn't be surprised if he killed someone. 

Neil looked back up into Todd's eyes. "And if I help you...you think he's gonna do something to your family?" 

Todd only nodded, feeling that unpleasant feeling of tears crippling in his eyes and his throat was closing up. 

Neil nodded and bit his lip, looking away. "But I don't want you to stay here either." 

"I-I'll be fine..." Todd mumbled. "My parents just need to p-pay." 

Neil turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Todd and tilted his head. Poor boy. He must really care about his family if he's willing to stay, when Neil could simply just walk Todd upstairs and out of this hell hole. 

"I'll tell you what, Todd. I'm gonna get you out, I promise. Just...wait a couple of days. I'll rent a car and we'll drive to your house and-" 

"Stop, no." Todd shook his head. "Running away isn't going to solve anything." 

Neil heard the front door open upstairs. He didn't know if it was his mother or worse, his father. He looked over at Todd, who also had fear in his eyes. Neil quickly tied Todd back the way he was, but way looser. He also placed the tape over his mouth but didn't press it that hard. Then he looked at Todd sincerely and grabbed his shoulders. "I won't leave you alright. I'll get you out, I promise Todd, if it's the last thing I'll do. I'll figure it out. I'll bring the next chance I get, some actual food, alright. Bye." 

And with that, Neil ran out of the basement and gave Todd one more sad look, before turning away and shutting the door behind him. 


End file.
